Hinge-joint.



Nb. 729,083. PATENTED MAY 26, 1903.

R. A. MOORE, .JR. HINGE JOINT.

APLIOATION FILED r213. 19. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNTTED STATES Patented May 26, 1903. v

PATENT OFFICE.

HINGE-JOINT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 729,083, dated May 26,1903.

Application filed February 19, 1903. Serial No. 144,062. (No model.)

To ail whom it may JON/0677b:

Be it known that I, ROSWELL A. MOORE, Jr., a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Kensington, in the county of Hartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hinge-Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in hinge-joints and the object ofmy improvement is simplicity in construction and efiiciency inoperation.

Figure 1 is a front elevation of my hingejoint. Fig. 2 is an enlargedsectional view of the same on the line a a; of Fig. 1, the centralmember or axle of the joint being in side elevation. Fig. 3 is a frontview of the lower member of my hinge-joint on the same scale as Fig. 1.Fig. 4. is a like view showing a modified form of the same. Fig. 5 is arear elevation of a jointed connection having three hinge-joints insteadof only one.

I have shown my hinge-joint in a form especially adapted for suspenders;but any straps or cords other than suspenders may be attached to myhinge member, if desired.

The novelty of the device resides in so much of the members as form thehinge-joint, and this joint may be applied to connections or members ofvarying form for use in connection with any article where a joint isdesired for suspensory or pulling devices, as in harnesses,ship-rigging, and analogous arts in which the swinging movement isconfined substantially to one plane instead of swinging in differentplanes like an ordinary balland-socket or universal joint.

A designates the lower member of my hingejoint and consists,essentially, of a loop for a strap and a pivotal or suspensory eye 6.The upper member B has a body consisting, essentially, of a pair ofplates 7 7, having ballreceiving pockets arranged opposite each other,the ball 8 axially confined within the pockets of the said platemembers, and the loop 9 for a strap. The ball is a short axle orspherical pivot, and the pivotal eye 6, between the plates 7 7, swingsin one single plane on the middle portion of the short axle formed bythe said ball. The pair of plates are preferably formed in one piece ofmetal doubled upon itself at the upper edge, where it receives the loop9 and is provided with the fastening device 10 at the unbent edges tohold the plates together. The metal in the bend at the doubled part ofthese plates and the said device 10 taken together constitute means forholding the said plates together to confine the axle or ball therein. Iprefer to employ a ball of hardened steel. The said ball has a diameterin excess of the thickness of the metal at the eye 6, so that oppositesides of the ball may project beyond the eye and form spherical pivotsthat are received and held in the pockets of the plates. Theball-pockets in the plates 7 7 are those portions of the said plateswhich immediately surround the laterally-projecting sides of the ballfor confining the ball axially within the said plates. These pocketsbeing filled by the ball 8 are clearly indicated by thereference-numeral 8, that indicates the ball.

In Fig. at the loop A is essentially the same as the loop A, and the eye6 differs from the eye 6 only by the omission of the separatingbar ofmetal between the eye and loop.

The parts are assembled by placing the ball in the ball-pocket of one ofthe plates on the inner side, then placing the pivotal eye 6 of themember A over the said plate with the ball in the said eye, thenbringing the other plate into its proper position to have the ballproject a little into the ball-pocket therein, and then fasten the twoplates so that they cannot spread apart and let the ball escape. Asshown, they are fastened by clenching the end of the fastening deviceover the outer side of the plate opposite the one on which said deviceis formed.

In Fig. 5 I have shown the same construction of hinge-joint, only thereare threejoints instead of one. The lower member or loop A is the sameas in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, and the upper member 13 consists of a pair ofplates 7, having opposite ball-pockets, three balls 8, and two loops 9each loop having an eye that is pivoted on the said ball the same as inthe loop A. The pair of plates are also secured together by the bend attheir upper edges and by the lugs or fastening devices 10 at theirunbent edges.

By my improvement a smooth and easy working hinge-joint is produced inwhich the ball changes its position in its bearing, so

that the wear on the ball is even. The single ball is confined onspherical pivots and constitutes the axle of the joint.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a hinge-joint, a member comprising asingle ball that serves as an axle, the diametrical opposite sides ofwhich ball form spherical pivots for the said axle, and a pair of plateshaving opposite ball-pockets of a shape and size to confine axially thesaid axle by engaging the said spherical pivots, and a second memberhavinga pivotal eye between the said plates and swinging in one singleplane on the middle portion of the short axle formed by the said ball. I

2. In a hingejoint, a spherical pivot, a pair of plates having circularpockets for axially confining the said spherical pivot in the saidplates by engaging opposite sides thereof,

means for confining the said plates in position to hold the saidspherical pivot in place, and a pivotal eye between the said platesmounted on the middle portion of the said pivot for swinging in a singleplane.

3. A hinge-joint, consisting of the loop 9,

a pair of plates connected with the said loop ROSWELL A. MOORE, JR.

Witnesses: JAMES SHEPARD,

SHEFFIELD H. CLARKE.

